Stage Zero: Nothing Has Happened Yet
Will the City Definitely Come Out?
Not definitely, and a visibly damaged house is the sort of property the process was written for. This is the stage where you have the most room.
What Is Worth Doing Now?
Secure the building properly, note the date you closed it up, and work out roughly what it would be worth repaired. All three are cheap and all three matter later.
Should I Contact Them First?
Reasonable people differ. Asking whether anything is on file is low risk; inviting an inspection is a bigger decision and worth advice.
Can I Sell Now?
Yes, and this is the cleanest position you will have. Nothing is recorded and no clock is visibly running.
Stage One: Somebody Has Inspected It
What Are They Deciding?
Whether the dwelling is unfit for human habitation, and then whether repair can be done at a reasonable cost in relation to its value.
What Value Will They Use?
The then current value of the dwelling, meaning as it stands now rather than before the fire. That is why the threshold is easier to cross than it sounds.
Can I Influence the Repair Cost Figure?
Legitimately, yes. A structural report that establishes the framing can be kept lowers the cost of repair, which lowers the fraction.
Should I Get a Lawyer?
If a demolition determination is in prospect, that is the point. The consequence is the building.
Stage Two: An Order Has Been Issued
Which Kind Did I Get?
Either an order to repair within a specified time, which will warn that failure makes the dwelling subject to an unfit order, or an order to remove or demolish.
Is It Public?
An ordinance adopted under the section is recorded with the register of deeds and indexed in your name in the grantor index. A buyer's title work will find it.
Can I Still Sell?
Yes. Disclose it at the start rather than letting it surface, because a buyer who learns late revises both their number and their timetable.
What If I Do Nothing?
Where the inspector has work carried out because the owner did not, the cost becomes a lien against the property.
Stage Three: It Has Been Closed Up a Long Time
How Long Is Too Long?
The abandonment of intent to repair provision turns on a dwelling being vacated and closed for a period of one year in the circumstances the section describes.
Does Boarding It up Cause This?
Boarding a house against weather and entry is sensible. What the provision addresses is a building left closed with no intent to repair being demonstrated.
Can I Restart the Position?
Demonstrating intent to repair is the substance of it, and how that plays out is a question for a lawyer rather than a buyer.
Is the Property Still Sellable?
Yes, and expect buyers who know the provision to price the remaining time. Those who do not will price it later.
Questions That Apply At Any Stage
Am I in a Historic District?
The city holds the boundaries. It matters because a commission determination can divert a demolition order into an order to vacate and close.
Which Jurisdiction Has My Parcel?
The county property record names it. It decides which office, which ordinance and which register of deeds.
Can I Sell With an Open Claim?
Yes. Who keeps the proceeds is a contract term rather than a legal barrier.
Is There a Fee for a Figure?
None, and declining costs nothing either.
If your question is specific to your property — and the good ones usually are — send the address. The answer often turns on what stage the city has reached and what the house would be worth repaired, and our service area index sets out what changes across the region.